Australian Public Libraries and Social Capital: An Exploratory Study - Libraries Research Group at Charles Sturt University

Investigators: Professor Tina Du and Professor Helen Partridge (Deakin University)

This project is funded by the Australian Research Council Discovery Project Grant DP250103150

This ARC-funded Discovery project aims to investigate the role of Australia’s public libraries as creators of social capital. With over 146 million visits annually, public libraries are ideally positioned to support stronger trust and social connectedness. The project expects to identify how public libraries can build more resilient communities by increasing social cohesion and reducing isolation. Expected outcomes include identifying the underlying mechanisms associated with creating social capital, and a maturity model to inform the nation’s 1706 public libraries. This should provide significant benefits, such as developing healthy and cohesive communities to help society and government function effectively.

You can read more about the project’s background and aims here.

Outputs from the project (TBA).

If you would like to collaborate on this CSU-Deakin initiative please feel free to contact one of the project team:

Professor Tina Du tdu@csu.edu.au

Professor Helen Partridge helen.partridge@deakin.edu.au

Dr Katherine Howard katherine.howard@deakin.edu.au

About the Libraries Research Group

Our research focuses on key issues affecting the sector, examining the ways in which library and information services can be improved, and library collections enhanced, as well the role of libraries and librarianship in contemporary society.

Building on CSU’s position as the leading and largest provider of library education in Australia, we are ideally placed to be the group librarians turn to when they need an evidence base for their decisions, or new solutions to real-world problems.